Advertise on podcast: AFSPA Talks

Today, we kick off Ancillary January with a focus on our combined dental and vision discount program offered in partnership with Careington. Valerie DeBruin joins us to discuss how this program differs from insurance, both in the services provided and the cost to the member. Stay tuned to the end for a mention of the hearing discount program, too.  For more information on all of our ancillary programs, please visit www.afspa.org/aip.  For more on the discount programs discussed in today's episode, please visit www.careington.com/co/afspa  AFSPA has a number of events planned for the weeks and months ahead. Learn more and register at www.afspa.org/events. 

Accessing mental health care can be a challenge. Outside the U.S., that challenge can at times be insurmountable. FSBP offers a program to help members around the world access counselors and other support to meet their behavioral, mental, and emotional health needs. Lyra Health is available to FSBP members outside the U.S. for counseling at no cost. Today, Karen Munson joins us to discuss this program and how members can access it.  Visit https://fsbp.lyrahealth.com/ to register and begin accessing care. FSBP members can also call +44 33 00 241 021 for immediate assistance. You can download the Lyra Health app through the App Store or the Google Play Store. If you receive a request to enter the organization sponsoring your access to Lyra, please enter "FSBP".  For more information on our various programs, please visit our video library at www.youtube.com/afspacares.  Join us for future events at www.afspa.org/events.

In today's episode, we discuss the updated requirements for GLP-1s for the Foreign Service Benefit Plan. Grace Silverio from Teladoc Health breaks down the new Advanced Weight Management Program required for FSBP members taking GLP-1s for weight loss in the U.S.  It's Open Season! If you're looking for more information on the FSBP's premiums, plan changes, and more, click here.  If you would like to register for an Open Season webinar, click here. Join us for AFSPA Live, a live Q&A session, on 11/20 @ 11 AM ET. We will be discussing the 2026 FSBP Open Season. If you would like to submit a question in advance, you can do so by filling out this form: https://forms.office.com/r/RApuq334NE. You can watch live on our YouTube channel @afspacares.  Register for the Virtual Benefits Fair: https://vshow.on24.com/vshow/FVBF25/registration/24363 

Today, AFSPA Talks Prescription Drug Coverage in 2026. For the first time in a decade, we're making changes to the cost shares for prescription drugs. Join us today to talk through the changes and understand what your costs will be in 2026. See the changes at www.afspa.org/openseason. Price your drugs at www.express-scripts.com/fsbp, and be sure to select 2026.  For members who have opted in to the FSBP-Express Scripts Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, or PDP, there will be NO CHANGE to cost sharing. This means that most drugs will cost members less under the PDP. Combine these savings with a wider network of pharmacies and greater flexibility for where you can obtain your maintenance drugs, and this may be the year for members who have Medicare A and/or B to opt in to the PDP. See www.afspa.org/pdp for more details and a pricing tool.  You may wish to watch this episode for the slides we share to show the changes. Find the video at www.youtube.com/afspacares.  Join us for AFSPA Live, a live Q&A session, on 11/20 @ 11 AM ET. We will be discussing the 2026 FSBP Open Season. If you would like to submit a question in advance, you can do so by filling out this form: https://forms.office.com/r/RApuq334NE. You can watch live on our YouTube channel @afspacares.  Register for the Virtual Benefits Fair: https://vshow.on24.com/vshow/FVBF25/registration/24363  Register for an Open Season Webinar: www.afspa.org/events

November has begun, and that means that the start of open season is only a week away. We've got your preview of open season changes in today's episode. Be sure to follow us for further updates, as we'll be diving deeper into some of the benefit changes in the weeks ahead.  Join us for a live event to learn more about our open season changes. See your options at: www.afspa.org/events.   Our discussion today is full of references, so here are some of the links we mentioned:  FSBP Open Season Information: www.afspa.org/openseason FSBP Drug Pricing Tool through Express Scripts: www.express-scripts.com/fsbp (Be sure to select the right year for proper pricing.)Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP): www.benefeds.com FSAFeds: www.fsafeds.com Join us for AFSPA Live, a live Q&A session, on 11/20 @ 11 AM ET. We will be discussing the 2026 FSBP Open Season. If you would like to submit a question in advance, you can do so by filling out this form: https://forms.office.com/r/RApuq334NE. You can watch live on our YouTube channel @afspacares.  Register for the Virtual Benefits Fair: https://vshow.on24.com/vshow/FVBF25/registration/24363 

October is Menopause Awareness Month. In this week's episode, we discuss the symptoms of Menopause and how it can affect daily life for women. We are joined by Shardae Jackson, Senior Manager of Client Success at Maven Clinic. Maven Clinic has a Menopause and Midlife Health program that focuses on treatment for menopause stages and symptoms.  To learn more about joining Maven Clinic, please visit this page. Maven Clinic is available free of charge to all FSBP members.  To submit a question for this month's AFSPA Live on Menopause, you can do that here. You can watch AFSPA Live here.  Open Season is coming soon! Be on the lookout for our Open Season webpage. To register for webinars, click here. 

Pelvic health issues can emerge in a variety of ways at any age. Often, people experiencing these issues assume that such problems are just a fact of life and do not discuss their concerns or seek treatment. Our goal for today's episode is to break down some of the taboos surrounding pelvic health issues and provide a solution from our partners at Hinge Health. Dr. Bijal Torpani, PT, DPT, joins us to discuss the Women's Pelvic Health program and how virtual physical therapy can benefit patients.  In 2025, Hinge Health is available to members of the Foreign Service Benefit Plan aged 18 and older and located in the United States. We will be expanding the program to some overseas locations in 2026 - more information to come. Visit hingehealth.com/fsbp for more information or to get started today.   Visit www.afspa.org/events to register for upcoming programs from AFSPA.

Today, we answer the question of what to do when facing a serious diagnosis. Where do you turn and when? What are the next steps? FSBP members in the United States can access an expert second opinion program from 2ndMD. Nurse Kim Rebec joins us to talk about the ins and outs of this service, which is available at no charge to FSBP members in the U.S.   For more information, visit https://www.2nd.md/ or download the 2ndMD app from the App Store or Google Play.  For more information on upcoming events from AFSPA, please visit www.afspa.org/events.

August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month. Mary Rood Cunningham, a Senior Client Success Manager at Maven Clinic, and Dr. Viraj Radia, a pediatrician with Maven Clinic, join us to discuss breastfeeding's benefits, best practices, and obstacles.  To learn more about Maven Clinic and to join at no cost for FSBP Members around the globe, check out www.mavenclinic.com/join/fsbp.  Check out our Events page for free webinars and other events to stay connected with us.  Join us for AFSPA Live to discuss Resetting for the Season: Mental Health and Family Building on Thursday, August 28, at 11 AM ET. You can watch here. If you'd like to submit a question, just ask it here. 

For this week's episode of AFSPA Talks, we revisit an episode from July 2023 about Skin Cancer. Now that it is summertime, we know that many of our listeners will be spending time in the sun. Skin cancer is the most common cancer. To help us understand more about skin cancer, we had Leah B. Jacobson, Sr. Medical Director at Aetna join us. You can stay in touch with AFSPA and all we have coming up by visiting www.afspa.org/events or by following up on our social media channels on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching @afspacares.  Mark your calendars and join us for AFSPA Live on Thursday, 7/31 @ 11 AM ET! AFSPA's COO, Twanisha Johnson, and Greg Klingler, CFP®, CPFA™, ChFEBC℠ from GEBA, will be ready to answer your questions about Financial Wellness During Times of Transition. Here are three ways to ask a question at the AFSPA Live Q&A Session: 1. Send any questions you want to be answered during the show by filling out this form: https://forms.office.com/r/QPzbfGB3aD 2. Leave your question(s) in the comment section of our live broadcast video. 3. Call a toll-free number 1-888-435-0757 to leave a voicemail message with your question(s). In your message, tell us your name, where you’re calling from, and state your question(s).

Happy Pride! For this week's episode, we wanted to share some information that would be helpful to members who have contacted us with questions about care and support for their children who are exploring their identities. We went back into our archive, and we're sharing an episode with Alyssa Clayden, PhD, LICSW, from the Truman Group that we originally published in June 2024.   You can stay in touch with AFSPA and all we have coming up by visiting www.afspa.org/events or by following up on our social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @afspacares.    Join us for AFSPA Live at 11 am ET on Thursday, June 26, on Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube. 

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The recent changes to the federal workforce and the uncertainty that continues for many have resulted in mental health concerns for many with ties to federal employment - employees and family members alike. Stress, anxiety, fear, anger, and worry are all understandable reactions, but you do not have to face these challenges alone. We at AFSPA encourage you to make use of resources that may be available to you through community groups, employee assistance programs, and your health benefits.  In today's episode, we highlight the long-term partnership between the Foreign Service Benefit Plan and the Truman Group. During our interview, Diane Nickeson-Mendheim, MSW, LCSW, describes how ex-pats can access care from the Truman Group for a variety of mental and behavioral health needs.  To learn more about the Truman Group, visit https://trumangroup.com/.  For more on mental wellness programs offered through the Foreign Service Benefit Plan, please visit https://www.afspa.org/fsbp/wellness-programs/manage-specific-conditions/#mental_wellness. 

In this episode of AFSPA Talks, we continue our conversation from Annual Meeting about weight loss, cardiovascular health, and diabetes management. Today's focus is on Chronic Care Management Programs. To tell us more about those programs, we have Grace Silverio from Teladoc Health.  For more information about the Chronic Care Management Programs available to Foreign Service Benefit Plan members at NO COST, click here. If you have questions about these programs, join AFSPA Live, our live Q&A session, on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 11 AM ET. If you would like to submit a question in advance, fill out this form. 

This month, AFSPA Talks takes a look at some of the support programs available to members of the Foreign Service Benefit Plan. To begin, we'll discuss the Lifestyle and Condition Coaching (LCC) program with Dr. Vivian Ogueli and Leah Perry, RN. They offer details on how to complete a health risk assessment (HRA) and earn $75 in wellness incentives, utilize the LCC offerings to mitigate any health risks, meet your goals, and generally improve your health.    For more information about LCC and other support programs, please visit www.afspa.org/fsbp/wellness.

In this podcast episode, AFSPA CEO, Kyle Longton provides a comprehensive overview of how Medicare and the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program work together. Learn about each part of Medicare - A, B, C, and D - and what factors you should consider when deciding whether to enroll in Part B.   Please note: this presentation addresses only how Medicare and FEHB work together. It is not intended for audiences beyond those with FEHB coverage. The information is accurate as of March 4, 2025.   For information on Part B premiums and Part D premiums/IRMAA amounts, please visit: https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/115.... To learn more about signing up for Medicare, visit: https://www.ssa.gov/medicare/sign-up. To learn more about the Foreign Service Benefit Plan and Medicare, visit: https://www.afspa.org/fsbp-and-medicare/